Coffey Geotechnics Senior Principal Receives Honor from National Civil Engineering Society

Reston, Va.—Harry G. Poulos, DScEng., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, Senior Principal with Coffey Geotechnics, was recently named a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). ASCE’s highest accolade, distinguished membership recognizes eminence in a branch of engineering, and is currently comprised of only 192 of the Society’s 144,000 members worldwide. Poulos will be formally inducted, in honor of his contributions to geo-technical engineering, at the Celebration of Leaders luncheon during ASCE’s 140^th Annual Civil Engineering Conference in Las Vegas, which will be held from October 21 to 23, 2010.

With more than forty years experience in academia and industry, ASCE is recognizing Poulos for his contributions to research and practice in foundation engineering, and especially for his work on pile foundation analysis and design, which has been applied to some of the world’s tallest structures.

From 1965 until his retirement in 2001, Poulos was a faculty member in the Department of Civil Engineering at Sydney University, receiving an appointment as professor in 1982. In addition to his academic work, he joined the consulting firm of Coffey Partners International in 1989. Poulos is also an Emeritus Professor at the University of Sydney and an adjunct professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Poulos has applied his academic research to a wide range of major projects around the world, including buildings, bridges, tunnels and off-shore structures. Some of his higher-profile projects include the Emirates Twin Towers and the Burj Dubai in Dubai, as well as the Docklands project in Melbourne, Australia and the 700km-long Odos Egnatia motorway in Greece.

A long-time active member of the international geo-technical community, Poulos is a member of the Australian Geomechanics Society and the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. In 1993, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to engineering, and in 2003 he received the Centenary Medal from the Australian government for his services to science and geotechnical engineering.

Poulos holds bachelor’s and doctorate degrees in civil engineering from the University of Sydney. He is a registered professional engineer in Australia, and currently resides in Sydney, Australia.

Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) represents more than 144,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America’s oldest national engineering society. For more information, visit www.asce.org.

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